[In the News]:Homeland Security


This is Steve Emberwith the VOA Special English program, IN THE NEWS.

Earlier this week, former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge becamedirector of a new Office of Homeland Security. President Bushcreated this cabinet-level office to strengthen preparations anddefenses against terrorism. This follows the September Eleventhattacks on New York and Washington.

Hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center and thePentagon military headquarters. The attacks killed more thanfive-thousand people.

In the federal government, more than forty agencies have someresponsibility for fighting terrorism. New programs have beencreated since the nineteen-ninety-three bombing at the World TradeCenter. Officials also linked that attack to Osama bin Laden.

Tom Ridge will try to get all these agencies to do more tocooperate and share information.

Mister Ridge served in Congress before voters in Pennsylvaniatwice elected him governor of that eastern state. He also served asa Marine in Vietnam during the war. He has been a close friend ofthe president for a long time.

About one-hundred people will work in the new homeland securityoffice. Most already work in the Bush administration. The presidentalso appointed an anti-terrorism expert and an adviser on computersecurity to report to Mister Ridge.

In addition, Mister Ridge will work with a Homeland SecurityCouncil led by President Bush. It will include several cabinetmembers. The directors of the Federal Bureau of Investigation andthe Federal Emergency Management Agency will also serve on thecouncil.

Mister Ridge's office is in the White House, not far from thepresident's office. The new agency has twenty-five-million-dollarsin operating money. This comes from emergency spending that Congressapproved after the attacks.

However, it is not clear how much control Mister Ridge will haveover the budgets or directors of other agencies. Several nationalsecurity experts say he must have enough power, for example, to helpmake sure one agency does not needlessly repeat the work of another.

Some lawmakers believe that, instead of the president, Congressshould have created the Office of Homeland Security. That way,Congress could have set its budget powers.

Even the name of the new office has led to comment. Someobservers say Americans do not really think of their country as a"homeland." Americans, after all, come from many lands.

Some people also question the need for another security agency.They worry that too much security may mean fewer constitutionalrights. Right now, though, safety seems the deepest concern.

Before coming to Washington, Tom Ridge had been dealing with oneof the events of September eleventh. One of the four airplaneshijacked that day crashed in Pennsylvania. All forty-four people onthe flight died. The plane went down in a field, after passengersfought the hijackers.

This VOA Special English program, IN THE NEWS, was written byJerilyn Watson. I'm Steve Ember.

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